[Damo]

OK, so I thought things were going well. Since I put the injectors back in it seems to be running better. Not what I would call 100% but better than before. So while it's running I thought i'd pull the plug leads one at a time and see if that makes any difference. If I pull 1 or 4 it dies straight away. If I pull 2 or 3 it seems to make no difference to how it runs.

So from that I conclude (correct me if i'm wrong) it's only running on 2 cylinders.

Now, for the engine to run it needs fuel, spark and compression.

SPARK. I'm pretty sure I have spark because when I pull the leads out of the distributor there is spark. Unless I have the timing wrong somewhere, perhaps I have leads 2 & 3 around the wrong way?

FUEL. Not 100% sure about this yet, but I did get the injectors cleaned so that's one thing that should be OK. I could pull the connector off the injectors 1 at a time to test for fuel?

COMPRESSION. The engine was running A-OK before so I don't think the compression is the problem. UNLESS I have the cam timing out 180 degrees or something wacko like that, BUT I have pics of how I set the cam timing in another thread and Royce and Joe said it was OK.

That's as far as my thinking takes me, any other ideas?

[joeblow]

was the manifold off? come across this problem a couple of times where the cylinders have too much air getting to them so they won't ignite. fabric inlet gasket or stainless?

[royce]

triple check the firing order is right
do a compression check
do a leak down test on those cylinders if you can
I think they group fire 2 and 3 injectors together, perhaps check they are actually getting power and or firing
if its all good triple check air leaks again

[Scrawny]

Pull the electrical plugs on the injectors one at a time. Have you checked the intake for air leaks? Has it got a blocked cat?

[Damo]

After thinking about it last night i'm pretty sure I have the plug leads on 2 & 3 mixed up. I made an assumption on which way (clockwise or counterclockwise) the rotor in the dizzy spins. If I assumed incorrectly it means that 2 & 3 would be backwards.

Joe, I did have the manifold off and it had a fabric gasket which was buggered once I took it off. The surfaces were cleaned up properly, and I just used some gasket goo on it.

Royce, yes checking the firing order is the 1st thing i'm going to do. A compression test wouldn't hurt either.

What's the best way to check for vacuum leaks? I'm sure I read something somewhere about a squirt bottle filled with water.

[royce]

I like spraying something flammable around, raises the revs when you spray the leak

[joeblow]

if it is a manifold leak order a new stainless gasket from suzuki, they aint that dear and are re-usable.

[Scrawny]

Using 'gasket goo' on manifolds is a big no-no, it will eventually destroy the oxy sensor. As Joe suggested get a stainless gasket.

Using some kind of ether spray like 'Start-ya-bastard' or Rapid Start is best for finding manifold leaks, you will hear the revs pick up when you spray the leak.

[Damo]

I'm pretty sure the goo should be ok, and i'll have to check that it's sensor safe (i'm pretty sure it is) but just in case i'm at risk of losing my "most pedantic" status, I ordered a new gasket

Part number is 13119-57B00, that's the same one for all of the SOHC 16v engines as far as I can tell.

[Damo]

Well it was the plug leads! Swapped 2 & 3 around and damn she idles nice now!!! Well, except for all the vibrations passed straight through to the body via the solid engine mounts